Type 1 Diabetes in Parents and Risk of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Offspring: A Population-Based Study in Sweden

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To explore whether a family history of type 1 diabetes (T1D) is associated with an increased incidence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Individuals with T1D were identified from the nationwide Swedish National Hospital Discharge Register and Swedish Outpatient Register in Sweden and were linked to the Swedish Multi-Generation Register to identify their offspring. Cox regression was used to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) of ADHD in offspring of patients with T1D compared with the general population. RESULTS A total of 15,615 individuals were born after their parents were diagnosed with T1D. After a set of confounding factors was controlled for, offspring of T1D patients had a significantly increased risk of ADHD with an HR of 1.29 (95% CI 1.15–1.42). Maternal T1D was associated with an enhanced risk of ADHD (HR 1.35 [95% CI 1.18–1.55]) compared with paternal T1D (HR 1.20 [95% CI 1.03–1.41]), but the difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS In this retrospective cohort study, we found that a parental history of T1D was associated with a 29% increased risk of being diagnosed with ADHD. However, the underlying mechanisms need to be explored in future studies.